Dateline: Cincinnati
The Reds used every bit of drama they could muster in sweeping the Minnesota Twins with a 10-inning 7-4 win.
The Reds overcame all the odds and used every position player to nail it down.
Cincinnati trailed 3-1 but scored three in the ninth and three in the 10th.
The Reds came all the way back to take with a ninth inning rally against Andrew Morris left in because the Twins normal progression of relievers were used extensively in the first two games of the series.
Spencer Steer singled to start the ninth. Tyler Stephenson followed with a clutch single to right. Dane Myers walked to load the bases after Rece Hinds flied out to right. TJ Friedl, hitting .147 without an extra-base hit drilled a double to the gap in right center field. Matt McLain flied out against Garrett Acton in his first appearance in the series. Elly De La Cruz grounded out on a nice stop by Cody Clemens at first base.
Emilio Pagan came in to close the game. James Outman, who snapped an 0-for-19 slump earlier, doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth.
Pagan was a teammate of the next hitter Byron Buxton with Minnesota two years ago. Buxton popped up to first. Austin Martin doubled to tie the game. Pagan kept it right there by retiring Victor Caratini to end the inning.
De La Cruz was the ghost runner to start the 10th. Sal Stewart scorched Acton’s pitch but it was right at Martin in left. Eugenio Suarez hit a ball into the hole between short and third. The ball ticked off Brooks Lee’s glove into shallow left De La Cruz went to third and dashed home when Martin dropped the ball. Steer struck out but Will Benson, who ran for Stephenson in the ninth was walked to pitch to Hinds, hitting .063. Hinds spoiled the strategy belting a two run double down the line in left.
Graham Ashcraft, a starter all his career before last season, started the inning with ghost runner Caratini on second. Clemens lined out to right. Luke Keaschall hit a ground ball between the legs of the second base umpire. McLain fielded it and threw him out. Ashcraft walked pinch hitter Ryan Jeffers to bring up the tying run personified by Lee. On a 2-2 pitch Ashcraft earned his first save on any level when catcher PJ Higgins, who developed a reputation for challenging pitches with the ABS system took advantage of the addition of a challenge extra innings, turned it into a called third strike to seal the sweep.
The Twins scored first. Byron Buxton hit a slow ground ball to Gold Glove third baseman, Ke’Bryan Hayes. Hayes throw was short to Sal Stewart at first the in-between-hop rolled up Stewart’s arm and Buxton reached second, ruled a hit and an error. Trevor Larnach walked. Fly outs by Josh Bell annVictor Caratini sent Buxton home.
The Twins added two more in the third.
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Buxton walked, Larnach, Bell and Caratini singled to extend the lead.
The Reds countered in the fourth.
Elly De La Cruz led off with a double into the right field corner. James Outman fumbled the ball allowing De La Cruz to take third. He scored on Stewart’s ground ball out up the middle.
Singer pitched out of a first and third jam in the bottom of the frame. Buxton popped up in the infield for the second out. The Twins tried a delayed double steal. Outman broke late for second. Catcher Tyler Stephenson threw toward second. De La Cruz cut it and returned the throw to easily beat Brooks Lee at the plate to end the inning.
Twins starter Bailey Ober allowed just three hits in 6 1/3 innings but walked Spencer Steer and Rece Hinds before Twins’s manager, Derek Shelton, relieved him with left hander Taylor Rogers, who pitched for the Reds last year.
Reds skipper, Terry Francona, burned announced pinch hitter Nathaniel Lowe by replacing him with right handed hitter, Dane Myers, who popped up to third to end the threat.
Singer ended up with a quality start with six innings. He allowed five hits. Four walks contributed to the Twins offense.
Connor Phillips walked one in a scoreless eighth.
Matt McLain walked against Andrew Morris but he struck out De La Cruz. Stewart flied out and Suarez stuck out after a contested call after they were out of ABS challenges.
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